According to a new report from Paypoint.net, 62% of 1,100 office staff would start their own business if the task were easier. Start-up costs and administrative demands, among other concerns, have conspired to dampen their ambitions.
These are the key findings from a survey of office workers commissioned by the leading online payments provider. The survey also reveals that just under two thirds (64%) believe running their own business would be more fulfilling than their current job, considering how much time they can waste on mundane activities.
Another finding was that 16% of those surveyed admitted to spending over two hours each week waiting for their computer to start up or close down. Just under half (44%) spend up to an hour scheduling meetings, let alone attending them. Office workers also waste a sizeable proportion of their working week waiting by the printer and photocopying documents, with 21% and 28% spending over an hour a week on these tasks respectively.
Online businesses are the most popular avenue for Britain’s would-be entrepreneurs, voiced by one third of respondents (34%) as the kind of business they’d like to own. Service and consultancy was the second most popular option (28%) with more traditional ‘bricks and mortar’ retail (7%) and construction (2%) the least popular choices.
Michael Norton, managing director of PayPoint.net, said: "Considering the tough economic climate of the past two years, it’s fantastic to see such a strong sense of entrepreneurialism in the UK. What is more sobering is the fact that many would-be entrepreneurs view online payments as an afterthought. We speak to many people who have to wait for weeks on end before they can start trading, while their Internet Merchant Account is arranged. Such a delay can be disastrous for businesses that may have made substantial investments in their websites."
The research, based on a survey of over across the UK, marks the launch of PayPoint.net Fast Track – a service that provides new online businesses with all the capabilities they need to start trading online in just 24 hours. The new service provides the industry’s most secure online payment gateway, flexible online fraud management technology, web shop and an Internet Merchant Account that typically takes several weeks to secure.
